


Sometimes Love is Not Enough

by kolbietheninja



Category: Naruto
Genre: Again NO BASHING, Canon Rewrite, Complete, Declarations Of Love, Drabble, Food for Thought, Gen, Here's my take on Chapter 699, I like SasuSaku, Love Confessions, NOT a bashing fic, One Shot, SasuSaku fans probably shouldn't read, Spoilers for Chapter 699, Unrequited Love, What I Think Should Have Happened, but I think it could have been handled better, no actual romance, or rather one small part of it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-06
Updated: 2015-02-06
Packaged: 2018-03-10 19:12:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3300506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kolbietheninja/pseuds/kolbietheninja
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sasuke has a little chat with Sakura before he departs.</p><p>(OR: In which Sakura realizes that sometimes love is not enough.)</p><p>(OR: What I think should have happened in Chapter 699)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sometimes Love is Not Enough

"What would you say..." She begins, timidly, all too aware of the ridiculousness of the situation but needing to get this off of her chest anyway. "If I... wanted to go with you?" Her cheeks flush under his intense scrutiny.

Sasuke doesn't react outwardly, save for the barest furrowing of his brows. "Because you're in love with me," He states, thoughtfully, as though he'd just come to a conclusion about something that had stumped him for awhile.

She nods, slowly, face reddening even more.

"Why?" He eventually asks, not in the tone of someone bewildered by the concept of love - or of someone loving _him_ \- but as if he'd heard such a phrase so often that the possibility of this claim being genuine is doubtful.

Sakura stalls for but a moment because she knows that she loves him, can feel it in her treacherous heart, in the way that it has ached since he'd been gone and in the way that it pounds so ferociously when he's standing so close to her now. She's known it since she was a child, and the truth has never been more real to her as she stares up at the man she'd let go who'd _come back to her_. But to put it in words?

She musters up all of the pain and longing and adoration and desperation and _love_ on her face and pours it into her voice as she explains, "I just _do_. I've always loved you, Sasuke. _Always_." Her eyes plead with him to understand, to realize, to know it so intimately, too.

And maybe he finally, _finally **gets**_ it because his lips twitch into a small, sad smile, and he looks at her so tenderly as he says, gently, the words she's been craving for _years-_

_"You don't even know me."_

His hands come up to cradle her face, and he leans in to press his lips against her forehead softly, whispering, "You don't have to wait for me anymore, Sakura. You're _better_ than that; you don't need me."

And with that, he leaves, abrupt and silent and as torrential as the storm raging inside her chest, equal parts sadness and _relief_.

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from "Born to Die" by Lana Del Ray.
> 
> I have no problems with SasuSaku; however, I dislike how Kishi handled Sakura's character - specifically, here. A romance could easily have kindled once Sasuke returned, but as of this moment, I see a distinct lack of chemistry. If anything, it's more like a sibling relationship - the way Sasuke sees Naruto, for example.
> 
> I just had to write this after reading that scene. Hopefully I haven't offended fans of the pairing because that isn't my intent at all. This isn't bashing but perhaps the beginning of character development for both of them and the possibility of a romance at a later time. Hope you enjoyed! :D


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